Makai Shopping Trip
by Iced Fairy
Summary: With Marisa acquiring an easy way to access Makai, Patchouli and Alice persuade her to allow them to come along. Of course travel never goes exactly as planned, even if you just wanted a quick shopping trip...
1. Chapter 1

Captain Murasa stretched as she allowed the ship to return to automatic mode. It wasn't as fun as captaining the vessel personally, but it was very convenient when she needed to go somewhere else. Focusing slightly she dematerialized and sank through the decks quickly before she allowed herself to rematerialize inside the palanquin ship. She turned to the four passengers. "We've passed the barriers, so it's safe to be up top."

The small devil that had accompanied them this time was flying up to the deck as soon as she finished speaking. Her master only looked up briefly from her book before returning to her notes. The other magician smiled at the demons antics. Marisa, of course, just laughed.

Murasa looked over at Marisa and asked the question that had been on her mind ever since the extra passengers had embarked. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you bringing your friends over just now? It'll be harder to just fly over when we set this place up as a temple. Why not get more visits in earlier?"

Marisa's happy look vanished and she sort of shrugged. The girl with the dolls floating about her decided to answer instead, "Because we had to beat her in a duel to force her to let us come along."

"Well it's bad business to just let your customers have access to your supply." Marisa protested. "My magic shop would have made good money if I was the only one with Makai connections."

"What customers?" The bookish magician said from her corner. "Your shop has less then a 7.142 percent chance of being open. How would anyone know when you were actually working? You've 'sold' one magical work in the last 4 months."

Marisa just shrugged at the details. "It was an awesome one though. Right, Patchy?"

"It was... pretty good." Patchouli admitted.

"The idea of having to rely on your judgment for magical materials, however, is terrifying," said Alice. "Some of us use things other then mushrooms for our magical work." The doll master frowned. "I'm seriously low on wyvern scale."

Murasa watched the three banter back and forth. "Hm... It seems like your three get along well." She immediately was pierced with 3 cold stares. Looking for a quick out she continued, "Anyway, we're going to start descending soon, so this is your best chance to view the city from the air."

"Ah. Thank you captain," Alice said gracefully exiting the cabin and heading up the stairs. "Yep thanks for everything," Marisa chimed in as she strode out. Patchouli just gave a polite nod before floating up after the two.

As Murasa left to take the helm once again she wondered to herself what interesting things those three would get up to in Makai's capital.

And if Byakuren was the only sane magician in existence.

--

On the palanquin ship's deck Koakuma looked with delight down on the city. It was nothing compared to some of the cities of the outside world, but it was far more impressive then the tiny human village of Gensoukyo. It was also the place where Koakuma had been created and raised.

While the cities of humanity were bright with many lights this city was dark, only illuminated by deep red lanterns in a few places. The citizens of Makai didn't need much light to see. Besides, the entire city was illuminated by the frozen lands that stood between the capitol and the grim fortress of Pandemonium.

Of course this was also her first time looking down on the city. Nameless devils wouldn't dare draw the attention of the predators of this land by flying this high over the city. Even now, after studying with Patchouli for over 50 years, she would be unwilling to attempt such a feat alone.

The sound of footsteps behind her indicated the others had finally decided to join her. The little devil waved at the three. "Ah, over here!"

The three walked over towards the railing. Marisa placed her hands behind her head and stared out over the landscape. "Hey. This city is where we met, isn't it Alice?"

Alice frowned slightly. "Yes. Thanks for reminding me."

Koakuma blinked at the news. "Eh? You've been to Makai before, Marisa? I thought that Reimu was the one who caused that big mess."

Marisa laughed. "Well Reimu took what little credit there was, but yeah, I busted in here a while back. When Reimu, Alice and I were still kids."

"Not that long ago then," Patchouli commented.

"Actually I've been wondering how you learned about that," Alice asked. "You've been away for a while haven't you?"

Koa glanced at her master wondering if she should spill this particular bit of information. Patchouli merely coughed. "Well Patchouli-sama occasionally summons things from Makai, so we get some information out of there. It's mostly just rumors, but big events get mentioned."

"Eh? Then why are you here?" Marisa asked turning to Patchy. "You don't normally leave your library for this sort of thing. Why didn't you just summon something up?"

Patchouli buried her face in her book. "I had an experiment that couldn't be done from a distance. And going to and from Makai takes a lot more effort then summoning up a demon then banishing them." Alice and Marisa exchanged looks then turned to Koa to see if she could add something to that non answer. Koakuma just shrugged. She didn't have a clue herself. Patchouli was terrible about explaining herself, even to those who had been around her a long time.

The truth was Koakuma was just thrilled to have a chance to visit home. That it was 'work related' didn't really matter.

The glow from the icy fields dimmed as the palanquin ship slowly descended next to the city.

--

With a twitch of her fingers Alice sent Hourai to recover her purse. She was surprised at the number of pickpockets around, even if petty crimes were the source of some demons amusement. Admittedly the fact that she was being targeted meant no one had recognized her yet, which was a good thing. They also provided a nice boost to her funds, as she usually removed the pickpockets purse too.

She moved further into the bazaar to catch up with her companions. Marisa, of course, was wandering away from a herbalist's stand. She quickly pushed through the crowd to walk with Alice towards where Patchouli was buying souvenirs. Glancing down at the bags Marisa was holding Alice couldn't help but ask, "Aren't black angel mushrooms less effective if you didn't forage for them yourself?"

Marisa smiled as she absently tossed the bag up then caught it again. "Stealing is like foraging right?"

Alice shrugged. "I suppose." She idly wondered if her lack of concern over property rights was a sign she'd spent too much time around the other witch.

They arrived to see Patchouli finishing up her bargaining. Koakuma grabbed the bags while Patchouli handed over several small items to the happy looking demon running the stall. Alice immediately recognized them when the stall owner held them up to the light. "Diamonds?" Marisa asked incredulously. "Isn't that a little expensive for some travel souvenirs?"

"Diamonds are far less rare then people imagine," Patchouli stated calmly. "Especially in the outside world. In fact they can apparently just make them in the outside world these days."

Marisa whistled. "That's pretty cool. I wonder how they do that. I'd like to learn how to make diamonds."

"If you make too many they become common, which makes them cheap." Alice looked at Patchouli. "And wouldn't using synthetics weaken any spells used with it?"

Patchouli gave her a glance back. "Hardly. Diamonds are used because of their physical qualities mainly. And even if you are using it because it's rare, isn't a synthetic diamond incredibly rare here?"

"I suppose that's true." She couldn't help but glance at Marisa. "Currently."

Marisa shrugged. "It's not like anyone in Gensoukyo who can afford diamonds actually needs them. I might be able to trade Kourin for something, but that's always hit or miss."

The four travelers were heading into the fringe shopping areas, where the restaurants didn't overcharge for food and it was less crowded. "So what is this experiment you were planing on doing anyway? Is it something about the atmosphere or what?"

"Actually it's..."

"Hey! It's you! That crazy witch!" Alice froze. She recognized that voice. This was bad.

Moving through the crowd were two familiar magicians. One was wearing the traditional black witch outfit with a large bow on the back, the other was wearing white and had small angel wings on her back.

Marisa, ever the diplomat, was quick to respond, "I'm not a crazy witch. I'm perfectly ordinary."

Yuki seemed unconvinced, for good reasons. "Ordinary witches don't deliberately fly towards bullets in order to look cooler when they dodge!"

Marisa shrugged and grinned. "Well I have to compete with Reimu somehow. Besides I tried giving up on grazing once and it just didn't feel right."

Alice tried to edge back away and blend into the crowd. She didn't want her presence to be widely known. It would cause complications, and she wanted this to be a quiet shopping trip. Fortunately she had an ally in Marisa's normal annoyingly cheery nature.

"...Alice?"

Alice sighed. This was very bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Marisa wasn't used to having people suddenly ignore her. However the second Mai called out the puppeteer the entire street seemed to focus it's attention on Alice.

Yuki did a double take. "That book... It is you Alice! Where did you disappear to? And why did you come back just now?"

"I just came back for supplies," Alice coolly stated. "I've got a house in the Forest of Magic now. The area's better for my research." That didn't seem to sit well with the crowd but Yuki and Mai didn't seem to be that hurt by the statement. Probably because as magicians they knew it was probably true. A magician would live in an active volcano if it helped their magic.

"Oh right, the doll project. Still, that doesn't explain why you're hanging out with that girl." Yuki pointed a finger at Marisa. "That shrine maiden and her wrecked half the city last time. In addition to beating up everyone they met."

"Well, Marisa isn't... okay she's exactly as bad as she seems."

"Hey!" Somehow Alice managed to make that accusation have bite.

"But she's at least straight forward. Anyway, she's the one that found an easy passage to Makai."

Yuki frowned. "I hope it's hard to find, because we don't need any of Gensoukyo's backwater battle maniacs wandering around here."

"I don't want to hear that from a second string magician."

Marisa's (far more polite) retort died on her lips as she turned to stare at Patchouli. Alice was actually showing shock. Koakuma was giving her master a questioning gaze.

"Who the hell are you?" Yuki jabbed her finger at the older mage. Mai stayed silent, but her expression showed support for her companion.

Patchouli closed her book and looked directly at the two. "I'm Patchouli Knowledge, of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Master of the Voile Library."

The two blinked. "Should we know about this library? Or the mansion? And should we be impressed that you're living under the roof of a devil?" Yuki asked incredulously.

"Your name is fake," Mai stated more simply.

Patchouli sighed. "Of course it's fake. Anyone wielding power worth mentioning uses a fake name if they can. I know it's uncommon in Gensoukyo because everyone knows everyone else, but down here you have no excuse for not keeping up the tradition." She flipped a page. "As for my relationship with Remilia Scarlet, you two need merely know that I'm her tutor in the magical arts.

Marisa was impressed. She'd never watched Patchouli pick a fight before. Now if only she could figure out why....

Yuki of course had no idea she was being manipulated. "You talk real big, but I bet you can't even match one of us. I'll beat any spell a backwater magician like you can toss out."

"Very well. If you insist on learning the hard way." Patchouli opened her book and removed a few spellcards from it."

"I don't think so. We aren't in Gensoukyo so we don't have to play those games." Yuki sneered. "I challenge you to a proper mage duel. I want to see if you can do anything other then blow pretty colored bullets about." At this point there were scattered chuckles from the crowd.

Patchouli blinked, then gave a smirk. "Hm. It's been a while since I've had one of those. Very well. Let's see what kind of magic you children can muster up." The crowd cleared a wide area around the two magicians as they faced off, with Marisa, Alice and Mai distinctly separate from the crowd. Koakuma seemed to be taking bets.

Marisa meanwhile couldn't help but be confused. She gave a sidelong glance to Alice and whispered, "Proper mage duel? Are they seriously just going to blast each other with real killing spells over this?"

Alice sighed. "Seriously Marisa, you can be such a rube sometimes. We magicians, human and youkai, have needed a way to handle internal disputes centuries before Gensoukyo existed, much less reintroduced the spell card system. The old mage duels were to show skill and knowledge, not power. They'll be trying to demonstrate a spell their opponent can't copy, Whichever one can best match their opponents chosen spell will win. If it's too close they'll choose another spell, or if neither of them can copy the spell they'll start exchanging counterspells."

Marisa shrugged. "Danamaku sounds like more fun. Well hopefully the spells will at least look interesting. If it's not flashy it's not magic."

Shanghai and Mai gave Marisa silent looks of contempt. Alice simply ignored the comment and pointed towards the contestants. "It looks like Yuki's ready."

The black clad magician had a wide smile as she held up a branch. She then dropped it and with a quick wave of her hands it burst into flame. Within seconds the branch was ashes. "Now see the skill of a true magician!" Yuki said as she held her hands over the ashes. She began to recite quickly under her breath and a globe of black flame appeared in her hands. She then dropped it on the ashes. The flames flared up, but unlike the flames previously these seemed to draw the light in, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening.

Marisa stared at the flame. "Oh coldfire. Burns ashes, releases cold not heat. I can do that. The darkness is new though."

Mai smirked. "That's not coldfire," she said in a proud voice. The darkness cleared revealing a square wooden block, to the cries of the crowd. "That's darkfire. A complete reversal of entropy. And Yuki can control it well enough to alter the item it's recreating mid spell. It requires a mastery of fire and an understanding of several high end magical principles. Your friend has her work cut out for her."

Marisa gave a whistle.. "That is pretty cool. I'll have to learn it myself."

Patchouli looked interested for a moment then flipped through a few pages of her book. She then lit the branch that had been provided to her. As it began to burn to ash she looked straight at her opponent. "A mediocre spell, but a passable choice for this duel. Almost no one could duplicate that exactly without a year of study. I'll have to settle for this." Patchouli took a deep breath and began muttering very quickly. Unlike in Yuki's spell the flames erupted straight from the ashes, creating a sudden field of darkness. Yuki frowned and the crowd began to murmur until the darkness cleared, leaving the branch that had been burnt before. "Unfortunately it's base spell is too well documented. Most serious mages should know it."

A lot of Yuki's bravado seemed to have been extinguished, but she didn't back down. "Alright lets see your spell! All I have to do it match it for the win."

"That will be easier said then done." Patchouli pulled out a lump of metal then recited a quick spell that cut the lump into two. She then gave one half a credible underhand throw towards her opponent..

Yuki easily caught the metal and looked at it. "Lead right?" A look of horror appeared on her face. "Wait. You can't possibly...?"

Patchouli already had her eyes closed and was reciting at an incredible pace. A magic circle began to burn around her then five more circles appeared above that. As Patchouli finished five different colored crystals appeared above the outer magic sigils. They then slowly slid forward along with the first circle, spinning in an intricate pattern. Patchouli threw the lead between the crystals and the metal landed with a thump on the other side, now sparkling gold.

The crowd was silent for a long moment. Then whispers began flying, all of them repeating one phrase. "The Philosophers Stone." Yuki just looked stunned.

Patchouli began reading her book again. "It's not at it's full potential power yet. I've only managed to stop my own aging with it, not grant immortality, but it's strong enough to bear the name." She spared a glance to Yuki. "Do you admit defeat?"

Yuki gritted her teeth. "I haven't tried yet. It's not over until I've finished my spell!" The fire witch closed her eyes. A full minute passed as she moved her arms aimlessly. Then she began reciting her own spell. The first circle formed around her, then the five surrounding sigils. But as the crystals formed all but one shattered and disappeared. The red crystal that remained fell to the ground with a thump, then disintegrated when Yuki finished her chant. Yuki dropped to her knees, exhausted.

Patchouli gave her foe a long look. "Hm... 32 points. Keeping one crystal intact is impressive for a beginner, even if your magic is far too overspecialized. That's out of 96 points by the way. However I believe the victory is mine."

Yuki looked completely drained, like she wanted to cry but couldn't muster the effort. Mai just looked scared. Alice had the look of grim annoyance that settled over her features whenever someone used magic that was beyond her limits. Marisa of course was just smiling. This was great reference material. She hoped to have darkfire learned within a week. "What the heck?" Yuki complained. "There's no way you could have learned stuff like that by fiddling around with danmaku."

Patchouli shook her head. "I have over a century of personal experience in magic. In addition unlike the sheltered residents of the magical realms I've seen the progress of the outside world first hand. I exceed you in experience, innovation and information. You had no chance in this dueling format." She closed her book again. "And now since I won the duel I believe you owe me a service."

Yuki groaned. "What do you want?"

"I need a guide to the areas of the city where the nameless devils dwell. Preferably a guide that the locals already know not to interfere with. You should perform the task nicely."

Yuki sighed and stood up. "I suppose that's better then a year and a day of apprenticeship. But wouldn't Alice be a better guide?"

"Actually I probably should drop by Pandemonium," Alice said. "Especially now that everyone knows I'm back." Marisa noted Alice didn't seem thrilled by the concept for some reason.

"Hm. I haven't had a maid throw a knife at me this week. I'll go with you." Marisa flipped her broom to horizontal and began to fly. With luck she might get a few answers about this mysterious past of Alice too.

"Sakuya's been slacking again." Patchy muttered to herself. Looking at Alice, she simply said. "Good luck." Alice gave a silent nod in return and took to the sky herself.

As Marisa and Alice left as Yuki began trying to blackmail Mai into accompanying her on Patchouli's little quest.

--

"So how is it everyone down here seems to know you?"

Alice sighed. This trip was turning out to be a bad idea. Still that explanation would pass some time. "You do remember I used to be human right?"

"Yeah you mentioned that once." Marisa shrugged. "So? Magicians often become youkai. I've got a better plan but..."

"How often do magicians become youkai before the age of 12?" Alice asked.

Marisa thought about that for a bit. "I suppose that would be really hard. But with the magical air here and a lot of other magicians to steal notes from..."

Alice shook her head. "Humans aren't born in Makai, well at least not recently. The only humans that are here are magicians who moved in And most of them become youkai very soon after arriving. With the number of magicians in the human world decreasing, most magicians here don't have anyone in their immediate family that was ever human."

Marisa replied with the obvious question. "So then how did you get here? And how did you become a youkai?"

"This." Alice held up her grimoire. "When I told you, 'You can't use this book,' it wasn't because you were human. It's because I'm the only one that can fully use it. The Grimoire of Alice is a magical artifact that binds itself to a girl." Alice placed her hand on the front of the locked book, feeling the magic flow through her. "I received the book when I was four. But there's an unusual side effect."

Marisa thought about it for a moment. "It makes you a youkai?"

"That wasn't the side effect I was thinking of, but it did do that as well." Alice didn't really consider that a unusual side effect. Most powerful magical artifacts changed you somehow. "It takes them somewhere. I don't know about the others, but I ended up in Makai."

Marisa looked confused. "Okay that's cool and all, but how does that make you a celebrity? I've fallen into Makai twice, and I probably did way more property damage."

"You did notice that you're infamous right? If your dress was more distinctive down here I'm sure more people then just Yuki would have called you out."

Marisa smiled. "Oh yeah. Good point."

"Anyway a magician that young with that much power dropping into the realm causes a bit of a stir. A lot of older magicians were interested in taking me as an apprentice." She frowned. "Or perhaps spell components." Alice sighed. "So in order to keep a fight from breaking out Shinki took me in as her ward."

Marisa's eyes widened as she figured it all out. "Ah. So that's why Koa calls you princess. And why everyone on the street seemed to know about you without being able to recognize you. But then why were you in the city when we fought? And why'd you ditch all that to come to Gensoukyo?"

Marisa always seemed to become perceptive at the worst possible times. Fortunately Alice had an easy out available. "Oh look. We've arrived."


	3. Chapter 3

The slums of Makai were actually some of the safest areas of the city, except perhaps for the residents themselves. Demonic hierarchy was based firmly in power, even in civilized areas like the cities of Makai. Thus those that lived in the slums of the city were the weakest demons, and they were more likely to avoid conflict. Still, most of the other residents preferred not to go there, if for no other reason then it wasn't all that pretty and the streets were mazes.

To Koakuma places like this had been home for a good portion of her life. While she loved her place in the library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the twisted streets of the Makai slums were incredibly nostalgic. She kept looking for some sign of the ward where she used to live, but the slums rebuilt themselves far more often then the rest of the city. Still she found the trip pleasant, even if the two mages leading her and Patchouli through the streets didn't.

On reaching another open square Yuki turned to see if this was what Patchouli was looking for. Patchouli just kept reading. Yuki swore then stood directly in front of the other mage to get her attention. "I don't suppose you're going to tell us this spell you're researching? Or what type of nameless devils you're looking for? Because it'd be a lot easier to know where to go."

"Sorry. Telling other people the ritual in advance would damage it. As for which nameless devils we're looking for..." Patchouli pointed at Koakuma. "She'll know when we find them."

"Eh?" Koakuma blinked at her master.

"You're looking for devils like her? In that case follow me." Mai stalked off towards another alley.

Yuki relaxed a bit. "Finally. Bringing the demon expert pays off." She quickly moved after her cohort.

As Koa and Patchouli followed along the demon turned to her master. "Why do you need devils like me master? And why couldn't you have just summoned them?"

"Admittedly the experiment doesn't require devils like you specifically. But I figured you'd want to talk to your old friends while we were here." Patchouli ignored Koakuma happily grabbing her arm. "Besides unlike most devils you're actually useful. That will be of some benefit to the test."

Koakuma merely kept her grip on her masters arm. To most Patchouli's words would have been simply a calm statement of fact, but Koakuma had been around the magician long enough to sense the feelings behind the words.

Also this was a great chance to 'accidentally' bump into Patchouli's breasts.

They followed the other two witches this way for a few streets, before they entered another open square. This one looked more like it was a meeting grounds for cosplayers however. The devils here were almost all female, and all wearing some sort of uniform. The buildings were different, but Koakuma immediately recognized her fellows. Removing her arm from Patchouli's (only somewhat reluctantly) she flew into the square. "Hey everyone. I'm back."

"Eh? Librarian?" The demon wearing a maid outfit moved to the front of the group. "We didn't expect to see you back until your contract was up!"

"Ah, Alouette!" Koakuma hopped over the magical snare set to trip her up (her friends were devils after all) and hugged the older girl. "Patchouli-sama let me visit since we were down here." She gave her friend a grin. "Also I've got a name now. Two names in fact."

Koakuma suddenly found herself in a headlock. "Ooooh. Aren't we going up in the world." Alouette began violently rubbing her head. "Waitress! Butler! Give her a good tickling to remind her of her origins!"

"Right on it!"

"Of course."

Koa found herself desperately trying to escape while laughing as her friends unleashed their wrath. "Ah wait... I... Ah haha... You're still... ha... the boss... ahah... Alouette. Please... hahaha... breathing..."

"Ah well I suppose you've kept a good head on your shoulders, so we can be merciful." The head demon let Koakuma go. Koa immediately began trying to catch her breath. "So what's your public name?"

Koa let herself take in a few more breaths. Her time with the fairy maids had spoiled her. She wasn't on the lookout from her peers as much as she should be. "Um. They call me Koakuma, though most people use Koa."

Butler raised an eyebrow at that. "Koakuma? No offense but that's terrible. It's not much better then our placeholders." The others seemed to agree.

Koa grinned weakly. "Well the master of the house is a vampire. A true ancestor in fact. So my master thought it'd be better to pick a name that would make me seem less threatening to her position."

"Living with a vampire?" The crowd looked shocked. "I'm impressed you're still alive." Alouette snapped her fingers. "Ah yes. Lib... I mean Koa. You need to meet our new sister." She turned to one of the open doorways. "OL, you can stop hiding now."

--

Patchouli and her escorts watched the devils reunion with varying degrees of interest. It looked something like a pack of wolves figuring out the pecking order. Except these devils preferred comic violence, pranks and seduction to more serious violence. Patchouli almost considered trying to get Mai to challenge her so she could get the other mage to work as an observer on these demonic groups, but Patchouli knew that research, unlike experimentation, was best done by the willing.

Yuki of course was mostly just confused. "Why are most of them using the names of their costumes as public names? I thought that nameless devils avoided making up names for themselves because they'd be stuck at their current level of power."

Mai nodded. "Yes, but the ones with jobs can use their job's name safely, since it's a title."

Patchouli began pulling out her reagents. "Then it seems I was right. These demons were created to be a succubus that also is actually good at a task."

"That's the common opinion." Mai stated.

Yuki gave Patchouli a look. "Wait a sec. Why were you summoning a succubus?"

Patchouli sighed. "I was trying to summon a devil that couldn't possibly exist, a library devil who has no interest in corrupting their owner, hording power, or any of the other standard knowledge devil tricks. I figured that would create a new devil. However, since Koakuma fit the billing, having a completely different set of questionable side interests, I summoned her instead."

"Well I guess that makes sense." Yuki looked to where Koakuma was chatting up the newest addition. "Though I don't know why lady Shinki created them. Or, for that matter, how she created them. What is an OL anyway?"

"Hm... An interesting point. Makai has even less contact with the outside human world then Gensoukyo, and I doubt Shinki has been taking trips to the outside to pick up new fetishes to make succubi out of." Patchouli pulled out another book and began to flip through it. "At a guess, Shiki creates a type of demon, then lets natural forces of belief 'fill in the blanks' as it were."

Mai seemed shocked by the idea, perhaps because it hadn't occurred to her. Yuki merely thought about it for a bit. "Huh. Well either way you'd better do your experiment before there's too much ambient magic in the area. Or before they cast some spell that makes our clothes vaporize."

Patchouli nodded in agreement. "A good idea. I've put wards up against that sort of thing so I'm immune. You, however, have probably already been hit by Koa's spell. She puts hers on a timer now so she can be out of range of her victims." Patchouli secretly took some delight in the other two magicians look of confusion, then shock as they realized they had fallen afoul of her familiar's tricks.

As the other two magicians began working on dispelling the enchantment placed upon them, Patchouli moved towards one of the better paved portions of the square. Kneeling down she began drawing lines, first in chalk, then in silver and bone dust. She was careful to double check each line with her notes. This wasn't a summoning, but the downsides of failing a new spell would probably still be terrible. Magic was a dangerous and volatile art still.

Her motions quickly drew the attention of the devils. Most of them went on guard when they noticed her spell. Koakuma however simply looked over the rune carefully before moving over. "Uh, master? What's that spell supposed to do?" Patchouli was mildly annoyed at the slight tone of worry in Koa's voice. She didn't use people as test subjects for dangerous experiments. Often.

"As I stated having others know the spell might decrease it's effectiveness. It should however only affect me directly."

Koakuma continued to look worried. "Will that be okay? Your asthma seems to be better right now, but the miasma here still damages the body of non devils. With your magic being focused elsewhere..."

Patchouli's expression eased a bit. "It shouldn't be a problem." If everything went as planned the magic drain should be minimal. Patchouli disliked overusing magic far from home. "For now just make sure nothing messes up the lines."

Patchouli finished the lines quickly, then triple checked them again. Taking a few deep breaths to make sure her asthma didn't kick in at a bad point she began reciting the spell. The back corner of her mind noted Yuki and Mai were discussing the spell, while the devils here watched carefully for signs of danger, or entertainment. Fortunately Koakuma's bond to her meant they probably wouldn't do anything to disrupt the casting. As she neared completion the runes caught fire, then Patchouli's vision began to blur.

As she finished her chant her vision suddenly became clear. The fuzzy lines that had blocked her sight coalesced into names hovering over the devils.

Then the pain hit her. Patchouli collapsed, unable to even scream. She immediately knew what had gone wrong. She had created the spell to see if devils were given a true name by their summoner, as many believed, or always had a true name that was just dormant. Her theory was correct, devils were all created with a true name, but she foolishly hadn't considered that merely looking at the name would try to activate it. Now her magic was spiraling out of control, trying to activate the names of far too many devils at once.

She could feel Koakuma trying to help control the magic somewhere in the back of her mind but she didn't have time to think about that. She carefully grabbed the threads of errant magic and twisted them forcibly, giving them a specific purpose. Looking up she focused her eyes on the least devil, driving everything else from her mind. With a violent snap the universe readjusted to fit the new reality Patchouli had unveiled, and with that her spell broke as well.

Air finally reentered her lungs and Patchouli began coughing. The spasms continued until she thought she was going to throw up, before they stopped and mercifully allowed her to pass out.


	4. Chapter 4

The one nice thing about youkai aging, Marisa mused, was that you could always recognize someone you had met before. That was how she was certain it was Yumeko there waiting for the two magicians at the door. The demon maid bowed to Alice and said, "I'm glad to see you came home Alice. Lady Shinki will be very pleased as well. Should I take your gift to the kitchen to be prepared while you meet with her?" She looked pointedly at Marisa with that statement, while summoning one of her magical swords.

Marisa was about to step forward and accept the challenge when Alice put a hand on her shoulder. "Actually she's my ride back. And I'd prefer not to cause massive property damage during my visit. If you could just lead us to where mother is...."

"Alice! It's been so long!"

The head of Makai herself stepped out of one of the many corridors leading to the entry hall and hugged Alice. Alice for her part was giving an expression that looked like it was cut straight out of one of the tengu's manga, specifically one of the 'embarrassed teenager' scenes. Yumeko was just looking stunned by her lady's lack of decorum. Marisa did her best not to laugh. She was interested in fighting the demon maid again, but laughing now would probably bring Alice into the fight as well, and 2 against 1 was totally lame if you were the one.

Alice loosely put her own arms around Shinki. "You don't need to be so emotional mother. I've only been away for a couple of years."

"But you've grown so much in that time." Shinki reluctantly relaxed her hug. "Anyway come in, come in. Both of you. You'll have to tell me everything that's happened while you were away. Especially since you never write." Alice looked guilty and embarrassed at the scolding

Yumeko had managed to recover her equilibrium by this point. "Lady Shinki, I would not dare to question your decisions on parenting," she stated, trying to look calm. "But this human here is responsible for a great number of crimes against Makai in the past. She should be punished! Drawn and quartered! Or at least served as soup."

"I am delicious," Marisa helpfully added.

Yumeko pointed at Marisa with one of her blades. "See. She agrees with me my lady. I promise I'll just kill her a little bit."

Shinki seemed unfazed by the declarations. "Now now. It's not like she's that shrine maiden. And she helped bring Alice back to visit us. I think we can forgive and forget this time."

Yumeko sighed at her mistresses utter lack of concern then dispelled the blade with a final glare at Marisa. Marisa simply tipped her hat to the maid, then traipsed along behind Alice and Shinki as the ruler of Makai led her "daughter" to a rather nice, if somewhat dark, sitting room, asking questions all the while. Alice's return answers were usually short and noncommittal. Marisa of course was keeping mental notes. This would provide years of entertainment.

The three sat around a table, Shinki on one side, Alice and Marisa on a couch to the other side, while Yumeko grudgingly went to collect non Marisa based snacks.

"So Alice, why didn't you just tell me that you needed a better place for your doll making? I could have created something for you. You worried me when you just ran off into the city without a word." Marisa had the feeling that the only reason Shinki was only pouting slightly was a failed attempt to keep from embarrassing Alice in front of Marisa. "And I wouldn't have even learned that if Yumeko hadn't found you."

Alice grimaced. "That wouldn't have helped mother. Everything in Makai is partly yours. If I created them here in Makai, they'd never be fully mine."

Shinki kept her smile but Marisa noted she looked sort of pained. "I see. I suppose Gensoukyo would be a better place then." She paused for a moment. "I know I can't keep you from your experiments, you are a magician after all, but always remember you have a place here, Alice." She then frowned at the puppeteer. "And you should write more. I understand it is hard to travel between the realms now, but sending messages isn't that hard."

Alice looked away at the scolding. "Sorry mother. I'll try to write more."

Yumeko entered the room at this moment, lightly phasing into view. She set down a cup of tea in front of her mistress, then one in front of Marisa, which Alice proceeded to swipe immediately. "Hey!" Marisa feebly protested. "Couldn't you wait?"

Alice simply took a sip of the tea before setting it down. "I wanted to make sure Yumeko hadn't forgotten and added something poisonous to humans."

Marisa's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't even considered that possibility. For some reason that annoyed her. A lot. "I would have noticed something like that."

Alice smirked. "Of course."

Marisa grumbled to herself. Alice had gotten one up on her. That wasn't supposed to happen. The air must be getting to her.

"It's nice to see you've made such good friends Alice," Shinki said, with something of a wistful smile.

Alice gave Marisa a sidelong glance. "She's just a neighbor, currently."

Marisa gave Alice a worried look. "You moving or something?"

"No. My new doll will crush you, making me the sole ruler of the forest," Alice stated smugly.

Yumeko bowed her head to the puppeteer. "An excellent goal Miss Alice. I wish for your success in this endeavor."

Marisa smiled. Alice's spells were always fun, and usually quite pretty if weak.. "Sounds great! I'm always interested in new danmaku. I'll be sure to give it a thorough test run. Just don't cry when I break it 'kay."

Shinki laughed lightly at the banter, then asked, "And who was the third girl who accompanied you? The one who has one of my devils contracted."

Marisa and Alice looked at each other, silently deciding who would reply. As usual it was Marisa who spoke first. "Patchy? She's the librarian at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Bad cough, has a whole lotta neat books. Low power but she packs lots of different danmaku."

Alice continued, "She's a magician's magician. Possibly the most skilled one I've met."

Shinki appeared to consider the matter. "Hm... She sounds different then what I expected. Still I suppose even a very studious magician would have needs."

Marisa and Alice once again gave each other a look, this time asking if Shinki meant what they thought she meant. Marisa thought she saw Shinki covering up a smile at their wordless communication but it was gone when Alice turned to reply.

"Uh, I don't think they have that kind of relationship," Alice stated mildly.

"Yeah, I think Patchy grabbed her by mistake. I think Koa considers at a challenge though."

Shinki blinked. "I see. I wonder how a girl like that could be summoned by accident." She then gave a sad smile. "Still it's good to see one of my creations find someone they can connect with."

Marisa wasn't the most observant of people, but she could still see Yumeko's pained expression at those words, and see Alice's angry frown in response.

"Of course mother. Ah sorry, if you could excuse me for a moment, I need to freshen up a bit." Alice stood and briskly walked further into the fortress. Marisa noted she didn't need to ask where the restrooms were.

Shinki managed to keep her mask up until Alice made it out of the room. Then her expression melted into hurt and worry. Only Marisa's mild annoyance at being completely ignored during this little drama prevented her from laughing at how stereotypical it was. She decided to try to confirm her suspicions. "So did you learn normal parenting from books?"

Yumeko was halfway though summoning a blade when Shinki nodded. "I suppose it was foolish of me to think I could raise a human child just off of that information."

"Nah. It's not you. It's her. She's kinda stubborn about things." Marisa kicked back on the sofa. "You shouldn't be upset about it. You're doing better then some parents I know."

Shinki's spirits seemed to raise a bit. "Really? I guess you must know from your own family."

Marisa winced. "Yeah. Sure... Anyway I'll go grab the little princess down from wherever she's sulking and you can go back to embarrassing her like a proper mother."

Shinki giggled at that. "Thank you, Marisa. See Yumeko. This is why we don't stab guests."

"I stand corrected Lady Shinki," Yumeko graciously stated.

On that uplifting note Marisa followed after Alice into the fortress.

---

Alice sat on one of the balconies of Pandemonium, looking out onto the ice fields that surrounded the fortress. A human balcony would have guard rails to prevent someone from accidentally going over the edge. In a realm where everyone of import could fly such things were unnecessary. Alice however had been human long enough to develop a healthy respect for heights, so sitting on the edge with her legs dangling over the side still had an air of danger to her. It was something she found useful for focusing her mind.

"Huh, that view's pretty dull without stars. The ice is okay, but I've seen better."

The black white witch casually took a seat on the ledge. Alice didn't bother to reply.

"You know, I'm not as intuitive as Reimu, but Shinki seems pretty hurt. You wanna talk about it, or should I just tell her you're in a troubled phase?"

Alice turned a sarcastic smile on the witch. "Sure. Why don't we talk about your father while we're at it?"

Marisa frowned. "You know, Shinki should put mirrors or something on the ceiling. That'd spruce the place up."

"I'll be sure to pass that on."

The two sat in silence a bit more. A lesser dragon left it's hidden nest in the 'ceiling' and rode the thermals for a bit before swooping down towards town, likely to grab an abandoned body or food cart before the locals shooed it off.

Alice sighed. "The long and short of it is I can't stand living in Makai, and it's better for everyone if I don't live here anyway."

Marisa adjusted her hat. "Is this your dislike of strong youkai thing again?"

Alice shrugged. "That's part of it." She looked down at her grimoire. "I still remember bits and pieces of my old life. I wasn't an infant or anything. But all of that was sacrificed to make me 'Alice.' It's painful seeing people who are more powerful just from birth. It makes me question what the point of my transformation was."

Marisa frowned. "But Gensoukyo isn't much better. We've got all sorts of powerful youkai wandering around. And I can tell you don't have that issue with Shinki."

Alice put her book down and looked straight at Marisa. "The other problem is that Shinki can't believe any of the residents of Makai actually love her."

Marisa blinked. "Wait! So she knows Yumeko is head over heals in love with her..."

"And she pretends not to notice to avoid taking advantage of Yumeko," Alice finished. "She believes that any of her creations that love or respect her do so because she unconsciously made them do so. So she can't believe in their feelings.

Alice sighed deeply again. "That's why she dotes on me too much. I'm from the outside, so she can believe in my emotions, even if she can't understand them as well. If I stay here she'll never move forward. Never come to terms with her creations free will."

The two stared out onto the ice flow for a little longer.

"I'm not sure if just waiting will solve anything," Marisa stated slowly. She then rolled backwards and stood up. "But either way while you're here you should do your best to keep her from worrying too much right?"

Alice took a deep breath and smiled. "I suppose I should try." She briefly took flight in order to properly stand up from the ledge. "Though it seems to be a mothers job to worry about you, even if they don't need to."

As the two began walking back towards the guest rooms, Alice asked, "By the way, how did you find me?"

Marisa smiled. "Pure luck. When I got mad as a kid I went to look up at the stars. I didn't realize Makai had such a boring skyscape so I just went up." Marisa's mood turned thoughtful. "Hey Alice, would Yumeko really have poisoned my tea?"

Alice smirked. "Not with anything fatal. She doesn't dislike you that much. Besides, you shouldn't use deadly poisons with the good china."

"Patchouli was right. You residents of Makai do have a warped sense of humor."

"I don't want to hear that from you, Marisa!"


	5. Chapter 5

Koakuma ran forward as her master slumped, catching the magician just before she hit the rough cobblestones. In the back of her mind she heard Mai saying something about not disturbing the circles, and her fellows talking excitedly, but right now she had to focus on Patchouli.

Patchouli's pulse was normal (well weak, but normal for her) and her breathing seemed right for someone out cold. Her heartbeat was a little more erratic then normal but it wasn't at dangerous levels Koakuma guessed. She waved over at one of the elder devils, the one wearing a nurse outfit. "Marie, please! I need your help here!"

The nurse devil reluctantly moved away from where the rest of the group was chattering excitedly and knelt down next to her younger "sibling." She began going through the same steps that Koakuma had, though with far greater deliberation at each step.

As she worked the older devil asked, "What did your master do there? It gave every unnamed demon in the plaza a headache, and now OL seems to think she has a name!"

"That's because she does," Mai stated.

Everyone in the plaza turned to look at the white witch, but she simply returned to studying the magic circles that were still intact. Yuki stepped forward to question her friend when a winged shadow passed over the plaza.

Everyone froze under the watch of one of Makai's great predators. Not as bad as some of the things around, western dragons were still powerful enough to kill most mid ranked devils. Of course such incidents happening in town were generally frowned upon, so the higher ups in the city usually blasted the creatures out of the sky. But reaction times to the slums weren't quite as fast as they were elsewhere.

It was entirely possible Patchouli might become lunch before help arrived.

Marie swore. "Koa grab her and help me get her inside."

Koakuma grabbed Patchouli's arms and OL ran forward to grab the magician's legs. "I sorta feel like I should help," the youngest devil said looking embarrassed. Koakuma felt a moment of jealousy. Why did Patchouli bind another demon to her, much less give her a name? But that thought was quickly replaced by worry as the three little devils began carrying Patchouli towards an open doorway.

"Oh, hey. That's a green. Persistent little guys. I bet it'll try to dig her out.," Yuki commented in an offhand manner as the dragon did another pass.

Marie blanched. "Sorry!" the nurse called out before fleeing towards another doorway. Koa couldn't quite blame her sister. After all Marie wasn't bound to Patchouli. She didn't even know the magician. And most magicians weren't as nice to their familiars. OL was looking worried too, but the girl hadn't run. Maybe she was still too confused to.

Koakuma leaned down and rifled through her master's spellcards. Sylph Horn. That was a good spell for her. Wood to match the books she kept constant watch over. It would be weaker in her hands, but still usable. She turned to OL. "Take Patchouli-sama and keep going. I... I'll hold it here until the other devils chase it off."

Koakuma just barely managed to keep her legs from trembling as she strode to the center of the plaza. The dragon was likely readying it's final pass. Koakuma steeled herself for the fight. She probably couldn't stop that dragon, even with all the training she'd done, but she could definitely slow it down. She took a deep breath, then jumped when a hand came down on her shoulder.

"You've got guts little girl, but you should leave this to professionals," Yuki said cheerfully. "I'm going to blast it right out of the sky."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Trying to get a boon?"

Yuki smiled "Yup. One good abuse of the rules deserves another."

Mai smiled sweetly and moved up next to her friend, her wings shifting from Angelic to Demonic as she did so. Yuki laughed. "A race Mai? Sure, lets see who gets the killing shot in."

Koakuma stepped back as the two magicians turned to face the dragon, who had decided it was going to finally get it's snack. The dragon swooped down quietly, opened it's mouth to unleash it's breath, and was very surprised to find that not only was it's breath attack not working, but it was under a hail of ice and fire.

The two magicians were actually fairly powerful, even compared to Gensoukyo standards. And it didn't help for the dragon that the two friends attacks didn't match at all. Yuki's shots were wild and random, while Mai's ice followed strict patterns. Trying to avoid one pattern led the dragon right into the others attacks.

The dragon swerved in circles, unsure of what direction to go before an icicle caught it in the eye and sent it crashing to the ground.

Yuki swore. "My luck is terrible today. No intelligent creature should have dodged into that!"

Mai simply smirked and let her wings return to their angelic appearance.

The two magicians landed and Koakuma bowed to both of them. "Uh, thank you for helping."

Yuki waved away the thanks. "Oh don't thank us, we did it because it's a bad idea to let dragons run around the city." She glanced at Mai, "Also now your boss owes us something."

Koakuma winced. Patchouli would not like that one bit. Still, that would have to wait until Patchouli awoke. "I'm sure she'll listen to your request when she gets better."

Allouette appeared from the doorway where the other devils had retreated, "And will she give us some explanation for what happened?"

Koa shrugged in response. Patchouli would say something, but it might not be useful or understandable.

OL spoke up from her place beside Patchouli, "Uh, and I guess she has to give me a public name too."

Koakuma shuddered, then walked up to her little sister and patted her on the head. "I'm so very, very sorry."

--

Marisa and Alice traipsed back into the sitting room where Yumeko and Shinki were waiting for them. Alice bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry it took so long. I got lost."

Shinki still looked a little upset, but she accepted the lie. "Oh. No worry. I should have offered to send Yumeko with you."

The two magicians sat down again, Marisa giving the cake that had appeared in their absence a cautious look before eating it. Yumeko seemed to have approved of her willingness to help with Alice, so it shouldn't be poisoned. But with youkai it could be hard to tell.

Shinki waited for the two to get comfortable before stating, "It seems your friend ran into a little trouble in the city. Nothing dangerous, but she may be a little late in meeting at your ship."

Marisa and Alice looked at each other. It was odd for Patchy to get herself in a bind. Alice looked at her mother, "What happened?"

Shiki looked apologetic. "I only looked in at the tail end when the dragon showed up. From the ripples across my realm however it seems she used a bit too much magic. She's fine though."

Marisa stared at Shiki's statement. Dragons weren't something to take so lightly. No one in Gensoukyo had seen a Dragon since before her birth.

Alice chuckled at Marisa's expression. "Western dragons aren't as impressive as the one's you're used to Marisa. We treat them like wild dogs around here."

Marisa snorted then took a sip of her own tea. "Not much of a dragon then is it?"

Shinki and Alice laughed. Yumeko smiled. "I imagine the western vampires think similarly of their eastern kin," Shinki stated.

Marisa thought on it a moment then shrugged. She'd never really met an eastern vampire.

Shinki turned back to Alice. "So, I don't suppose there's any change in your romantic prospects Alice?"

Alice shrugged. "There's someone I'm sort of interested in, but they're too immature to notice their own feelings yet. I figure I can wait a little longer though."

Marisa choked a little on her tea. "Wha? You're interested in someone? Why haven't you told me about this?"

Alice gave her a smile. "Because I didn't feel like it."

The words stung. She drained her cup and set it down harshly on the table. "Tch. Whatever."

Shinki looked at the two back and forth. "I see. Well if something changes tell me. I won't forgive you if you don't write more. If you don't I'll have to soothe my feelings of abandonment by writing to someone about your childhood. In great detail." Shinki smiled at Marisa. "I'm sure you'd be interested, wouldn't you Ms Kirisame?"

Marisa's frown changed to a smile. Revenge would be sweet indeed. "Oh I'd be happy to get another correspondent."

Alice shuddered in horror. "I'll write mother! I swear! Every week!"

Shinki smiled. "Oh thank you. You'll make me so happy Alice dear."

--

The first thing Patchouli saw when she woke up was two Koakuma's peering down at her with worried expressions. She sighed and closed her eyes again. "Koakuma I seem to have suffered more damage then I thought. I'm still seeing double."

Her familiar gave a nervous laugh. "Ah Patchouli-sama, OL is here with me."

Patchouli took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Sure enough on closer examination the two devils were distinct. "Ah yes. I had to name her in order to break my spell. I guess that would bind her to me. My apologies to you both."

Koakuma put on her best smile, "I'm just glad your safe Patchouli-sama."

The other devil managed to smile nervously, "It's not bad for me either master. It's not like there are many job opportunities for me down here."

"Oh hey! She's awake."

Patchouli slowly sat up and turned towards the voice. Unsurprisingly it was Yuki. Mai was slightly behind her sitting on what appeared to be a dead dragon. Both of them were smiling too much, which raised alarms in Patchouli's mind.

"I am conscious," Patchouli responded. "I am surprised you are still here though. You've completed my request."

Yuki's smile grew wider. "Yep. But you haven't completed mine." Mai idly whistled and Yuki frowned. "Okay you haven't completed Mai's. Since she saved your life from this dragon and all."

Patchouli looked at Koakuma who winced in apology. "It was the only way I could be sure you wouldn't get hurt."

Patchouli sighed and once again vowed to look into strength enhancing magics. "So what do you want?"

Mai pointed at the devil sitting by Koakuma's side. "Her."

"EH!?" Yuki turned to stare at her friend, as did a good portion of the other devils. Patchouli on the other hand just considered why the magician should make such a request. She felt mild amusement when she got the answer.

Patchouli nodded her acceptance. "Very well. A year and a day I believe is the standard for such things. We'll use the human worlds time for this matter if you please, just in case someone decides to alter time in our respective realms."

"Hold on one second!" Yuki pointed at her friend. "What are you doing? We've got a boon off of someone who's got at least 2 unique spells and you're spending it to grab a secretary devil?"

Mai sighed. "A devil with a direct connection to her and whose powers will include message transferal. Come on Yuki. If it was easy enough to learn the spell in a day, then the notes I made would be enough. Just like you'd be able to get most transmutation spells off the notes."

Patchouli couldn't help smirking. "Quite astute. I admit this is also good for me as well." She nodded towards the young devil whose fate was being decided. "I'll need at least a year and a day to convince Remi to let another devil in the house anyway. However you forgot one thing." Mai blinked at her. "If you ask for this young devils services for a year you'll have used your boon without getting the spell off of me."

Mai smacked herself in the forehead. Yuki buried her face in her hands. "You blew it, Mai."

Patchouli coughed to get the other magicians attention. "However, I'm a reasonable person. I'll trade you the spell, in exchange for two things. Firstly, an explanation of how you'll use it. As you can see it's far to dangerous to use at random. "

Mai considered the matter for a bit. "I believe actually binding the rest of these devils would be the best course of action."

Yuki put her face back in her hands. "You can't be serious. Why would we need a whole passel of lesser devils? Even this spell does name them?"

"Because they're all skilled at some job without possessing a flaw that makes their presence not worth their skill. With them working full time we could have a whole mansion to ourselves while still being able to conduct research whenever we wish."

Yuki blinked, thought about it a little while, then turned to where the other devils were huddled. She called on one of her more subtle spells to listen in on their whispered conversation.

"We'd all have names. That's a big plus."

"And we'd get out of the slums."

"It's better then that. They're magicians. We can get some magical training done in between work and wind up as mid tier demons. You saw how much Librarian, er Koa, learned."

"And they are kinda cute. That's a plus."

Yuki dismissed the spell and turned to Mai. "You know people are going to think we're perverts."

Mai shook her head. "We'll be rich, and soon after that powerful. That makes us eccentric. Besides think of the research."

Yuki gave a good natured sigh and shrug. "Well, I wasn't expecting to become the head of a coven of succubi but I can't argue with the potential results." The black witch turned towards the impromptu meeting. "So what do you lot think."

Allouette took her place at the head of the group and curtsied. "Please look after us Master."

Patchouli held up a hand. "Forgive me but there are two things that need doing before that." When she had gained everyone's attention she continued. "First I need to give this one a public name." She pointed at OL. "Elle should suffice." The newly christened Elle blushed and murmured her thanks. Koa looked mildly annoyed, while the other devils nodded in acceptance.

"Secondly I need an item from you two witches to seal the bargain. An item you should be able to acquire easily, and that I want you to give to Koakuma here...."

--

Alice looked for words to properly express her thoughts on the scene in front of her, and couldn't find anything.

Marisa of course had no such issues.

"What the heck, Patchouli? Did you suddenly decide to try and kill yourself cloning Koakuma?" Marisa stated, pointing at the mass of devils who were busy trying to decide if they were terrified or honored to be in Shiki's presence.

Patchouli simply gave the black white witch a glare. Alice figured that Patchy didn't realize Marisa was just acting stupid to get an easy answer. One which her mother was happy to provide.

"Oh my. I hope you aren't planning on taking all those youngsters with you miss... Patchouli was it?" Shinki pouted. "I would hope some of them would stay here at home."

Yuki and Mai looked at each other, then Yuki stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Well, actually we're the ones actually offering them a job Shinki... sama." Yuki added hastily as Yumeko glared at her. She waved at Patchouli and Koakuma. "We just wanted to see these two off."

Marisa whistled. "A quick way to name and bind devils? Impressive. Not as useful back in Gensoukyo of course. Most of the ones there aren't exactly bindable."

Patchouli nodded. "Yes. And there's no way Remi would allow that many other devils in the mansion." She sighed. "Vampires can be so needlessly territorial."

Shinki smiled. "I see, so you're taking all those little ones in then. I'm so happy for you all. I'll be sure to check up on you girls later on." Yuki and Mai managed weak grins, while the crowd of small devils were all too starstruck to keep gossiping. Once again Alice remembered that Skinki was a ruler, even if she was normally terribly remote. Shinki's off hand offer was carefully constructed to keep Mai and Yuki from going too power mad with that spell.

Fortunately soon Alice would be back in Gensoukyo, where no one cared about any of that.

Marisa shrugged. "Huh, well I'll have to steal that spell from you later. Anyway, I think the angry ghost on the deck is signaling us to get a move on so I guess we gotta go." She waved to the residents of Makai. "Bye Yuki. Bye Mai. Bye crazy maid chick, and you devils. Nice meeting you again Miss Shinki. Feel free to write me any embarrassing stories about Alice."

Alice turned to Shinki and Yumeko as Koa began her long goodbye process. "I..." Alice searched for the right words. She was never really good with this.

Shinki just stepped forward to hug her. "I know you need your space. But I still love you, and I miss you. Please keep in touch, okay."

Alice flushed from embarrassment. She only hoped nobody was paying attention. "I love you too mom. I'll try to write more."

"Please do Alice dear." Shinki said. Alice took a few moments to regain her composure and turned her attention to Yumeko, who was attmepting to look cool, as usual.

"A pleasure seeing you Yumeko. I hope you can find some more time to relax in the future," Alice stated to the maid.

Yumeko managed a smirk. "A maid worthy of Lady Shinki can't afford to waste time on relaxation."

Alice returned the smirk. "Even the 'perfect maid,' finds time to relax. Besides, I don't think mother wants a perfect maid." She began to head back towards the ship. "Goodbye Mother," she said, waving.

"Bye bye!" Shinki called after her while waving.

The goddess of Makai didn't stop waving until the ship had passed out of sight.

---

Alice stretched as they cleared the barrier back to Gensoukyo. So much for a quiet shopping trip... Apparently dimensional travel wasn't meant to be simple. She began checking her dolls for wear and tear from the magic they'd been exposed to when Patchouli approached her.

"Here," the older magician said, holding a wooden box towards her.

"Huh?" Curious, Alice looked in the box. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the object within. "What is that?"

"The heart of a dragon, gifted three times," Patchouli said as if that explained something.

Alice was about to make a comment when Marisa interrupted. "Wait, what? 'Hearts gifted three times' is for love potions. And even if western dragons are lame for dragons it's still gotta be pretty powerful magic. Are you proposing or trying to play matchmaker?"

Patchouli turned away and began reading again. "It's a gift. Use it as you wish."

Alice wasn't sure if she should be flattered, annoyed, or exasperated. She settled for sighing. "I appreciate the gift, but there's a reason it's the 'language of flowers' and not the 'language of useful body parts you just harvested.'"

Patchouli just muttered and turned away. Meanwhile, Marisa did her best to look totally uninterested in this while nervously watching as much as she could. Koakuma, of course, was smiling like a cat who had found a creamery.

Alice sighed again and smiled weakly. It seemed she'd have something to write to her mother about....


	6. Extra

Yuki was sure she was going to snap soon.

She had no idea how she had let Mai talk her into this. Sure the little devils were skilled at their jobs, but they were still devils! And every single one of them had a _different_ job. They'd all agreed to set up the mansion first, but now each one wanted their own personal workspace. And while they were making serious amounts of money, there was no way they could buy everything each devil needed all at once, much less actually get poor Ferra to construct it all in a day.

Currently she was sitting in the makeshift main office pouring over the accounts one more time, trying to maximize profits so they could keep expanding faster. Elle was running back and forth scribbling out copies (and complaining about not having a machine to do it for her) while the accountant devil, Cassia, sketched out profit loss plans. "We'll have time for more research," Yuki muttered in a sing song voice as she compared the two latest charts. "Dammit Mai! I can't believe you suckered me into this. Numbers, numbers, numbers. Three months of nothing but numbers!"

The door slammed open revealing Marie. "Yuki-sama! You can't cut funding! You'll regret this! Without the full hospital room functioning I can't treat anything past basic first aid and simple diseases!"

Yuki slammed the pen into the table. "Your full hospital would take more money then we have and then some! And it produces almost no income. We need the brewery set up next so we can finance the rest of the expansions!"

"Yuki-sama," Ferra stormed past the annoyed nurse waving some documents. "I need more money then this to get the proper tools to continue work! Without the smithy running there's no way I can get the quality metals for these projects!"

Yuki burried her face in her hands. "IT'S JUST A BAR! It doesn't need fancy metalwork, and if it does we can buy it! I need a good reason before I just hand out funds!"

Mai sighed as she heard Yuki continue shouting through the door, "And unbuttoning your blouse is not a good reason!" The magicians wings lightly twitched, then relaxed again.

"Yuki really needs to calm down," she said lazily to the devil girl who was kneading her shoulders. "Maybe you should visit her after she's done. This really helps get the tension out."

The devil smiled. "I'm glad I could help Mai-sama. I'll offer my services to Yuki-sama later if you desire it."

"Yeah, good idea." Mai yawned. "I'll have to make sure to name you first though. I'm not going to let Yuki steal away someone as skilled as you."

"Thanks."

Mai's mind wandered a bit. "Hey, how did masseuse become a separate bit from doctor anyway?"

"I heard it had something to do with medical practices in the outside world. Something about Chiropractic work not being covered...."

Mai yawned as she heard a blast of fire go off in the room next door. "Oh, you probably shouldn't offer Yuki any special service. I don't think she'd take it well."

The devil laughed nervously. "Yeah..."

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(And thus the shopping trip ends. A thanks to all my readers and reviewers, and I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of this story.)


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